Door-hood arrangement



y 1967 D. c. SIMPSON ETAL 3,322,111

DOOR-HOOD ARRANGEMENT Filed Aug. 13, 1965 4 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTORS DON/MO C Smnsov BY PAUL @IQLLOTG' y 0,1967 11. SIMPSON ETAL 3,322,111

DOOR-HOOD ARRANGEMENT INVENTORQ N DONALD C smnsow (0 BY l am. Gannon;

y 30, 1967 D. c. SIMPSON ETAL 3,322,111

DOOR-HOOD ARRANGEMENT Filed Aug. 13, 1965 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 54 5s INVENTORS DONALD C \slNPsoN E. 4. BY P904 Bnuors i WM/ M14? fax/W 2.

May 30, 1967 D. c. SIMPSON ETAL DOOR-HOOD ARRANGEMENT 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Aug. 13, 1965 INVENTORS Dow/440 C S/MPso/v BY lm. BALLOTS ATTOIP United States Patent 3,322,111 DOOR-HOOD ARRANGEMENT Donald (3. Simpson, Drums, and Paul Ballots, Hazleton, Pm, assignors to Nautilus Industries, Inc., Freeland, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Filed Aug. 13, 1965, Ser. No. 479,503 6 Claims. (Cl. 126-21) This invention relates to exhaust units and in particular it concerns a novel =hood type exhaust arrangmeut for use with flush mounted wall ovens.

Wall ovens are usually designed to be integrated with the cupboard or cabinet arrangement in a kitchen. In most cases, the oven is mounted at eye level above a stove; and it is surrounded, on both sides and on top, by various of the kitchen cabinets. The oven protrudes outwardly a few inches in front of the cabinets and is provided with vent openings or louvers on its exposed top surface to permit venting or exhaustion of the various gases and vapors formed therein.

Because of their flush mounted arrangement, these ovens do not lend themselves well to the efiicient disposal of the hot exhaust gases and vapors which are emitted through the vent openings and up along the face of the cabinets. Usually these gases and vapors are merely allowed to escape into the kitchen with the expected undesirable effects.

The present invention provides a novel and efficient ex haust unit for handling the hot gases and vapors emitted from flush mounted wall ovens. This novel unit occupies only a minimal amount of space and it provides an attractive and evenly decorative arrangement, which blends in well with the cabinets themselves.

According to the present invention, there is provided a thin generally rectangular box-like housing which is adapted to lie flatly immediately above the wall oven along its top surface. The front end of the housing, which is open, is substantially flush with the surface of thecabinets; and thus is located immediately behind the oven vent openings. The interior of the housing is arranged to define an internal duct which transfers oven exhaust gases from at least a portion of the front end opening to an outlet, which, in some cases may be another portion of the front end opening. In other cases, the-outlet may be a separate second opening. Fan means and filter means are provided along the internal duct to transfer the .gases and vapors from the inlet to the outlet opening and to at least partially clean these gases during such transfer.

An important feature of my invention lies in the construction and arrangement of a novel means to direct the oven exhaust gases to the inlet opening. This novel means involves a movable cover arrangement having a door mounted in a unique manner to move between first and second positions in front of the front opening of the housing. In the first position, the door lies flat against the front opening, entirely covering it and presenting an attractive decorative cover flush with the adjacent cabinets. In the second position the door lies in slanted position so that it protrudes outwardly and downwardly from the front opening. In this position the inside, or underside, of the door extends over the oven vents and acts as a hood which directs the oven exhaust up into the housing and through its internal duct.

The unique mounting means permits the door to be moved between its first and second positions with a mere push or pull of one hand. Yet the door remains securely in either position without requiring springs, latches or other mechanisms which would complicate the structure and easily become clogged by grease and dirt. The mounting means includes a first pivotal connection between the upper edge of the door and the front edge of the housing, near its front opening. This first pivotal conice nection is arranged, as by a slot in the housing structure, to move in a vertical direction along the front of the housing. An elongated brace is provided; and its ends are pivotally connected respectively to a fixed point on the housing aligned with the line of movement of th first pivotal connection and a point toward the lower edge of the door. As the door is pulled outwardly, its upper edge slides downwardly along the front of the housing while its lower edge moves outwardly about the arc of pivotal movement of the brace. The door thus comes to a position extending outwardly and downwardly from the front opening with its inner or under surface extending over the oven exhaust vents in the manner of a hood positioned to direct oven exhaust into the front opening of the housing. The length of the brace and the distance between pivot points are chosen such that the weight of the door itself holds it in its extended position. Also, when the door is in its closed position, covering the front opening, the pivot points are all in vertical alignment with the center of gravity of the door. Thus there is no tendency for the door to fall from its closed to its opened position.

The novel door mounting means of the present invention is also especially suited for use in the so-called ductless oven exhaust units. These ductless units contain within them special air purifiers which operate to separate the pure air from the grease, dirt and other foreign matter in the oven exhaust and to return the pure air back into the kitchen. Since, .with the new mounting means of the present invention, the upper edge of the oven door moves downward as its lower edge swings out, the portion of the housing front surface which is uncovered by the downwardly moving upper edge of the door, can be made to serve as an outlet opening. In this arrangement, oven exhaust gases are directed by the underside of the door into the inlet opening of the housing while the purified air emitted from the outlet opening proceeds out immediately above the upper surface of the door. The door thus effectively separates these two moving streams while permitting them to move very close to each other in the restricted space available in typical wall oven installations.

There has thus been outlined rather broadly the more important features of the invention in order that the detailed description thereof that follows may be better understood, and in order that the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated. There are, of course, additional features of the invention that will be described hereinafter and which will form the subject of the claims appended hereto. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the conception upon which this disclosure is based may readily be utilized in a variety of ways for carrying out the several purposes of the invention. It is important, therefore, that the claims be regarded as including such equivalent ways as do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Certain specific applications of the invention are shown in the accompanying drawings and are described in the following portions of the specification.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating an oven exhaust unit installation embodying the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view, partially cut away, similar to FIG. 1 and illustrating the exhaust unit in open or operating condition;

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view in section of the oven exhaust unit of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an exploded view illustrating the interior construction of the oven exhaust unit of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a further exploded view similar to FIG. 4 and additionally showing the front configuration of the unit;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary side elevational view, in secwidths.

3 tion, showing the front portion of the unit as shown in FIG. 3, but in closed or non-operating condition;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary perspective view illustrating a portion of the operating mechanism of the unit of FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary front elevational view of the fragmentary portion of FIG. 7; and

FIG. 9 is a side elevational view invsection illustrating a modified oven exhaust unit installation embodying the present invention.

FIG. 1 shows the general arrangement of a typical wall oven installation utilizing an oven exhaust unit according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, there is provided a wall oven 10 mounted in conjunction with various kitchen cabinets, a portion of the walls of which are shown at 12. The wall oven 10 protrudes outwardly in front of the cabinet wall 12 for a short distance and is provided on its exposed top wall with oven vent louvers 14 through which oven exhaust gases and vapors may pass. An oven exhaust unit 16, according to the present invention, is also mounted in integral association with the kitchen cabinets immediately behind the cabinet wall 12 and above the wall oven 10. As shown in FIG. 1, the oven exhaust unit 16 comprises a flat rectangular outer housing 18 mounted fiatwise immediately above the wall oven 10. The outer housing 18 is connected at its front end to a rectangular outer frame 20 which is mounted flush against the cabinet wall 12 immediately above and behind the exposed portion of the upper wall-of the wall oven 10. The outer frame 20 circumscribes and mounts a door-hood 22 which forms a vertical panel just above the wall oven 10. Centrally of the door-hood 22 and toward its lower edge there is provided a handle 24 which may be grasped to move the door-hood from its first closed position as shown to an opened position as shown in FIG. 2.

As can be seen in FIG. 2, the opened door-hood 22 extends outwardly and downwardly from the outer frame 20 and the front of the outer housing 18 of the oven exhaust unit 16. With the door-hood in this position, hot gases and vapors constituting the oven exhaust, proceed up through the oven vent louvers 14 and are trapped at the underside of the door-hood 22 and directed by the door-hood into an inlet opening 26 leading into the outer housing 18 of the oven exhaust unit. In the present embodiment, which utilizes the so-called no duct or ductless concept, the dirt, grease, or other foreign matter contained in the oven exhaust are removed from the pure air and trapped within the outer housing 18. The pure air is thereafter returned out through an outlet opening 28 in the front of the outer housing 18 immediately above the inlet opening 26. A grill work 30 is provided to cover the outlet opening 28.

' The outer housing 18, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, is of lesser width than the outer frame 20. Actually, the outer housing 18 is of a standard size and is accommodated to fit wall ovens of different widths by the provision of outer frames corresponding to those widths. A pair of side plates 31 are provided at the ends of the outer frame 20 to accommodate the difierence in oven As shown in the section view of FIG. 3, the interior of the outer housing 18 is formed to. define an internal duct which proceeds from the inlet opening 26 back along the lowerportion of the housing toward a fan 32, thence up and back along the upper portion of the housing 18 to the outlet opening 28. A flat, rectangular grease filter 34 is mounted slantwise within the lower portion of the outer housing 18 by means of upper and lower clips 36 and 38 respectively. This slanted arrangement permits of a relatively large filtration area within a narrow passageway. This grease filter extracts the heavier and more flammable substance from the oven exhaust and prevents these substances from coming into contact with the fan 32. The cleaning effect produced by this first filter also reduces the danger of fire which might otherwise be caused by arcing or heat-ing in the fan motorpAlso, the elimination of these materials in advance of the fan prevents them from clogging the mechanical portions of the fan.

A charcoal or similar type filter 48, also of flat rectangular configuration, is provided in the upper region of the outer housing 18 in close proximity to the outlet opening 28. This charcoal type filter is held in place by means ofupper and lower clips 44 and 46 in a manner similar to the manner in which the clips 36 and 38 hold the grease filter 34 in place. The charcoal filter serves to eliminate from the oven exhaust those gases and/or vapors which may be odorous or noxious, so that the oven exhaust can be redirected back into the kitchen through the outlet opening 28.

The exploded views of FIGS. 4 and 5 illustrate more clearly the manner in which the internal components are mounted in the outer housing 18. As shown in FIG. 4, the outer housing 18 simply comprises a sheet metal structure formed into a generally box-like configuration. The front end of this structure is open and is provided with four bent back flanges 50 along each of its edges, by which it is attached to the cabinet wall 12. An inner boxlike frame structure 52 slides into the outer housing 18 through its open front end. This inner frame structure is equal in width and height to the outer frame 18, but is shorter in depth. Like the outer frame 18, it is provided with front flanges 54 which fit flush against the front flanges 50 of the outer frame 18 for attachment thereto, as by bolting. Aligned holes 55 are provided in the corresponding flanges for this purpose The inner frame 52 itself is open at its front end and I is divided by means of-a horizontal wall 56 into upper and lower regions within which the grease filter 34 and the charcoal filter 40 are mounted. The various filter mounting clips 36, 38, 44 and 46 are affixed to the walls 'of the inner frame structure 52. The rear portion of the frame structure 52 below the horizontal wall 56 is fully opened to allow all of the hot exhaust gas passing from the oven 10 to pass through the lower portion of the outer housing 18 toward the fan 32. A rear wall 58 is provided across the upper portion of the inner frame 52 and this wall is provided with an opening (not shown) to which is connected the output of the fan 32. Thus all of the fan exhaust passes through this opening and into the region above the horizontal wall 56. As shown in FIG. 5, the outer frame 20 with the door-hood 22 is fastened to the flanges 50 of the outer housing 18 after the inner frame member 52 is mounted in place and the filters 34 and 40 are secured in their respective mounting clips. The outer frame is attached by means of thumb screws passing through holes in the side plates 54 and threadedly engaged in the flanges 50 of the outer housing 18.

The construction of the outer frame 20, the door-hood 22 and the means for attaching the door-hood 22 to the outer frame 20 is most clearly shown in FIGS. 6-8. As shown in these figures and in FIG. 2, the door-hood 22 is made of sheet metal and is sufiiciently expansive so that when it is in its closed position, it covers the entire area enclosed by the outer frame 20. The lower or front edge of the door-hood is bent downwardly to form a front flange 60. Similarly, the top or inner edge of the doorhood is bent back to form a rear flange 62. The end edges of the door-hood are also bent down to form side panels 64 which complete the hood effect.

The outer frame 20, as can be seen from its cross sectional appearance in FIGS. 3 and 6, is formed of sheet metal bent into a U-shaped or channel configuration with its opened area facing back against the cabinet wall 12. This channelized arrangement is then formed into a rectangular picture frame like configuration. The inside end surfaces of the outer frame 20 are provided with vertical slots 66 which extend from a point near the top of the frame to a point immediately below the horizontal wall 56. As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, lugs 68 are provided to protrude out from the side panels 64 of the door-hood 22 near the upper edge thereof; These lugs extend into the vertical slots 66 so that the upper edge of the doorhood 22 is connected to the outer frame 20 by means 7 of a pivotal connection with it free to move in a vertical direction along the vertical slot 66.

A pair of elongated brace members 70 are provided, one on each end of the door-hood 22. One end of each brace member 70 is pivotally connected at a point on the side panel 64 approximately midway between the upper and lower edges of the door-hood 22. The other end of each brace member 70 is pivotally connected to the inside end surfaces of the outer frame 20 near the bottom thereof at points directly below the vertical slot 66. The length of the brace 70, and the location of its pivot points with respect to the vertical slot 66 are chosen to enable the door-hood 22 to be moved from a closed position as shown in FIG. 1 to an opened position as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.

It will be noted that the extent of opening of the doorhood 22 may be limited either by the lower limit of the vertical slots 66 which prevent the lugs 68 from going beyond a certain point; or by the engagement of the rear flange 62 of the opened door-hood with an upwardly extending front flange 72 formed along the front edge of the horizontal wall 56 of the inner frame structure 52, as shown in FIG. 3.

Because of the arrangement of pivot points and braces, the door-hood 22 may be moved between its opened and closed positions merely by pushing and pulling on the door handle 24. Also, the door will remain in either position Without need of latches, springs or similar complex elements. The elimination of these elements makes possible the smooth, uncluttered yet highly decorative arrangement of the door-hood in both its opened and closed positions.

The present invention is well adapted for use as exhaust units of the ducted variety, i.e., those which exhaust to a remote location, such as the outer atmosphere. One such ducted arrangement is shown in FIG. 9. In this arrangement, the inner frame structure 52 is removed, and the front exhaust opening 38 is closed by a vertical panel 80. This panel has an upward bend forming a front flange 82 along its lower edge which performs the same door limiting function as the front flange 72 of the no-duct arrangement. In this present system a single flat rectangular grease filter 84 is provided immediately inside the front opening, and is held by upper and lower clips 86 and 88 in a slanted position extending fully between the top and bottom of the outer housing 18. A fan and motor 32 are mounted behind the grease filter; and the fan output is connected to a duct 94 which exhausts to a remote location.

As can be seen in the drawings, the remainder of the unit, including the outer housing 18, the outer housing 20, the door-hood 22 and the door-hood mounting means are all identical to their counterparts in the previously described embodiment.

Having thus described my invention with particular reference to the preferred form thereof, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art to which the invention pertains, after understanding my invention, that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from thte spirit and scope of my invention, as defined by the claims appended thereto.

What is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. An oven exhaust unit comprising a generally flat rectangular box like outer housing formed with internal ductwork and rectangular inlet and outlet openings located respectively immediately below and above the other at one end of said housing, said outer housing being adapted to be mounted flatwise above a wall oven with said openings extending in a common vertical plane immediately above and behind the front of such oven, fan means located within said outer housing and operative to move oven exhaust through said internal ductwork, in said inlet opening and out said outlet opening, a doorhood member shaped to lie flat against and to cover said one end of said outer housing including both said inlet and outlet openings, mounting means arranged to secure said door-hood member to said outer housing in a manner allowing movement between a first position fiat against said one end of said outer housing and a second position extending outwardly from between said openings and slanted downwardly over said inlet opening to provide a hood effect therefor.

2. An oven exhaust unit comprising a substantially rectangular outer housing opened at one end and adapted to be mounted flatwise above a wall oven with one end extending in a vertical plane above and behind the vent openings of said oven, an inner housing also open at one end and fitted closely within said outer housing with their respective open ends being coextensive, said inner housing being provided with a horizontal wall dividing said inner housing into upper and lower ducts, filter means located within said ducts, blower means within said outer housing behind said inner housing and operative to blow oven exhaust gases in through said lower duct and out through said upper duct, a substantially flat door-hood member configured to lie flat against and fully cover the open ends of said housings, means mounting said doorhood member to move between a first position flat against and fully covering the open ends of said housings and a second position extending out from said horizontal wall and slanting downwardly therefrom over the oven vent openings.

3. An oven exhaust unit as in claim 2 wherein the upper edge of said door-hood member is shaped to engage said horizontal wall to be maintained thereby in its said second position.

4. An oven exhaust unit as in claim 3 wherein said door hood member is provided along its upper edge with an inwardly turned flange and said horizontal wall is provided along its outer edge with an upwardly turned flange, said flanges hooking over each other in the said second position of said door-hood member.

5. An oven exhaust unit comprising a substantially rectangular outer housing opened at one end and adapted to be mounted flatwise above a wall oven with said one end extending in a vertical plane above and behind the vent openings of said oven, an inner housing also open at one end and fitted closely within said outer housing so that their respective open ends are coextensive, said inner housing being provided with a horizontal wall dividing said inner housing into upper and lower ducts, filter means located within said ducts, blower means within said outer housing behind said inner housing and operative to blow oven exhaust gases in through said lower duct and out through said upper duct, a fiat door hood member configured to lie flat against, and fully cover the open ends of said housings, mounting means for said door-hood member, said mounting means comprising a first pivotal connection allowing pivotal movement along the upper edge of said door-hood member with respect to the open end of said housings, said first pivotal connection being freely moveable in a vertical direction, and at least one brace member pivotally connected at its opposite ends respectively to fixed points on said outer housing below said first pivotal connection and on said door-hood, the length of said brace member and the location of said fixed points being such as to allow movement of said door-- hood member from a first position flat against the open end of said housings to a second position extending out from said horizontal wall and slanting downwardly therefrom.

6. An oven exhaust unit comprising a substantially rectangular housing having an opening at the lower portion of one end and having an outlet, said housing being adapted to be mounted flatwise above a wall oven with said one end extending in a vertical plane above and behind the vent openings of said oven, filter means located within said housing, blower means within said housing and operative to move oven exhaust gases in through said housing, opening through said filter means and out said outlet, a flat door-hood member configured to lie fiat against, and substantially cover the end of said housing formed with the opening, mounting means for said doorhood member, said mounting means comprising a first pivotal connection allowing pivotal movement along the upper edge of said door-hood member with respect to the open end of said housing, said first pivotal connection being freely moveable in a vertical direction, at least one brace member pivotally connected at its opposite ends respectively to fixed points on said housing below said first pivotal connection and on said door-hood, the length of said brace member and the location of said fixed points being such as to allow movement of said door hood member'from a first position fiat against the open end of said housing to a second position extending out from said housing and slanting downwardly therefrom, and mutually engaging means on said housing and door maintaining the upper edge of said door above said opening in said housing when said door is in its second position.

References Cited FREDERICK L. MATTESON, JR., Primary Examiner.

E. G. FAVORS, Assistant Examiner. 

1. AN OVEN EXHAUST UNIT COMPRISING A GENERALLY FLAT RECTANGULAR BOX LIKE OUTER HOUSING FORMED WITH INTERNAL DUCTWORK AND RECTANGULAR INLET AND OUTLET OPENINGS LOCATED RESPECTIVELY IMMEDIATELY BELOW AND ABOVE THE OTHER AT ONE END OF SAID HOUSING, SAID OUTER HOUSING BEING ADAPTED TO BE MOUNTED FLATWISE ABOVE A WALL OVEN WITH SAID OPENINGS EXTENDING IN A COMMON VERTICAL PLANE IMMEDIATELY ABOVE AND BEHIND THE FRONT OF SUCH OVEN, FAN MEANS LOCATED WITHIN SAID OUTER HOUSING AND OPERATIVE TO MOVE OVEN EXHAUST THROUGH SAID INTERNAL DUCTWORK, IN SAID INLET OPENING AND OUT SAID OUTLET OPENING, A DOORHOOD MEMBER SHAPED TO LIE FLAT AGAINST AND TO COVER SAID ONE END OF SAID OUTER HOUSING INCLUDING BOTH SAID INLET AND OUTLET OPENINGS, MOUNTING MEANS ARRANGED TO SECURE SAID DOOR-HOOD MEMBER TO SAID OUTER HOUSING IN A MAN- 